Surgeon general to speak at UR medical school commencement

Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, the surgeon general of the United States, will be the keynote speaker on May 18 for the commencement ceremony of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Benjamin, who was nominated to the post by President Barack Obama, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree from UR. The surgeon general is charged with providing the public with the best health information available.

Prior to becoming "America's Doctor," Benjamin founded a rural health clinic in Alabama, which stayed open despite damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Benjamin also served as associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and was chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States.

She was the 1998 U.S. recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and was the first African-American woman to serve as president of a state medical society.